The Deep-Sea Podcast
Armatus Oceanic
A punk take on a science podcast about everything deep sea.
- 1 hour 54 minutesCephstravanganza with Professor Kat BolstadEpisode Summary
In our newest episode, we join roving reporter Kat Bolstad at the Cephalopod International Advisory Council in Okinawa and hear from some of the most interesting people in Cephalopod research.
Check out our lovely new website where you can find more detailed notes, images and links to the wider reading.
In this episode…Welcome back to the Deep-Sea Podcast, your punk take on all things deep sea!
The Professor is still down under, organizing conferences and recuperating from Old Mate’s Classic Aussie Sausage Sizzle, a robust event filled with friends of the podcast and still felt 24 hours later.
Thom is freshly back from another big ocean/small boat adventure, in which the ocean always wins and his stomach always loses… everything. He is also stretching his creative muscles and curating an exciting new museum exhibit called Breathe | Mauri Ora at Te Papa, an examination of science into art by Marshmallow Lazer Feast.
Our episode this month is a fascinating collection of interviews from the Cephalopod International Advisory Council Meeting that took place Oct-Nov in Okinawa Japan. Join Kat Bolstad, our roving reporter, as she takes time between bug hunting, seeing her first wild cuttlefish and shaking hands with a new octopus friend to collect interviews with some of the coolest names in Ceph science with a focus on the deep-sea. We hear from 12 Cephalopod experts on a wide variety of topics, including the preferred snacks for cephalopods, the effects of oxygen depletion on egg hatching, water temperature and acidification effects on cephalopod populations, and of course, the correct answer to the viral question: are octopuses actually ALIENS?
In the news, get ready for updates on:
- Deep diving manta rays using the ocean bottom to navigate
- A newly launched AI tool to map the Deep- Sea
- Bright blue mud filled with fat molecules indicating life in the deep
- Corals and Crinoids sharing symbionts and cycling nitrogen
- And an update from the Unseen Ocean Collective about the work they are creating for a show in Juneau Alaska in 2026.
On the Discord, we’ve been busy with:
- Voting on the Holiday Party movie
- Started a long overdue ART channel, and a new Pets channel
- Photo tours of submersibles and Okinawa
- Early Holiday celebrations by one of our hosts
- Great feedback and conversation on our last episode.
The podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:
Elisabeth Grace Diemer
Nes Morgan
Check out our podcast merch here!
Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:
We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone!
https://www.speakpipe.com/deepseapodvoicemail
Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!
Find out more Social mediaBlueSky: @deepseapod.com
https://bsky.app/profile/deepseapod.com
Twitter: @DeepSeaPod
https://twitter.com/DeepSeaPod
Instagram: @deepsea_podcast
https://www.instagram.com/deepsea_podcast/
Keep up with the team on social media Twitter:Alan - @Hadalbloke
https://twitter.com/Hadalbloke
Thom - @ThomLinley
https://twitter.com/ThomLinley
Instagram:Thom - @thom.linley
https://www.instagram.com/thom.linley/
Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions
https://www.instagram.com/inkfishexpeditions/
BlueSky:Thom @thomaslinley.com
https://bsky.app/profile/thomaslinley.com
Alan @hadalbloke
https://bsky.app/profile/hadalbloke.bsky.social
Reference list NewsDeep-Sea News
World's largest rays may be diving to extreme depths to build mental maps of vast oceans
China launches AI tool for deep-sea research
Unseen Ocean CollectiveUnseen Ocean Collective (@unseenoceancollective) • Instagram photos and videos
https://bsky.app/profile/unseenocean.bsky.social
Discord UpdatesHoliday Party! Join Patreon here to get access to the Holiday party!
Interview LinksKat’s Socials
Bluesky: @autsquidsquad.bsky.social
Sarah McAnulty
Skype a Scientist SkypeAScientist.com
Kristina Fleetwood
Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary
Meg Mindlin
Toni’s socials
Toni’s Research Group
Funcionamiento y Vulnerabilidad de Ecosistemas Marinos | Institut de Ciències del Mar
Other Links
Breathe | Mauri Ora | Te PapaMitochondrial genome diversity and population structure of the giant squid Architeuthis
Cephalopod camouflage bibliography on Zotero
AUT Lab for Cephalopod Ecology & Systematics aka AUT ‘Squid Squad’
Cephalopod Images and Footage
CIAC 2025 website, programme, book of abstracts
https://www.ryo-minemizu.com/
CreditsSong of the month: Tornado of Souls, by Megadeth, performed by medium-sized Jamieson.
Logo image: Photo credit to Peter Morse @PeterAndTheOctopus
Theme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel
6 December 2025, 9:02 pm - 37 minutes 49 secondsPRESSURISED: 063 – Bioluminescent Symbiosis with Margaret McFall-NgaiWelcome to the PRESSURISED version of episode 63, just the science, none of the waffle
PRESSURISED: Bioluminescent Symbiosis with Margaret McFall-Ngai | The Deep-Sea Podcast | Episode 63
Our guest this month is Dr. Margaret McFall-Ngai, an animal physiologist and biochemist who is a staff researcher at Carnegie Institution for Science’s Division of Biosphere Sciences and Engineering, with her lab stationed at the California Institute of Technology in Biology and Biological Engineering. Dr. McFal-Ngai talks us through her work on the stable beneficial relationship between the Hawaiian bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes) and its partner, the luminous bacterium Vibrio fischeri. Although technically not a deep-sea species, this relationship and its details might help us understand how deep-sea life creates bioluminescence and the possible life cycle impacts for the creatures involved.
GlossaryCrypt - The chambers within the squid's light organ.
Support the showThe podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:
Sophie Bagshaw
Laura
Check out our podcast merch here!
Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:
We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone!
https://www.speakpipe.com/deepseapodvoicemail
Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!
Find out more Social mediaBlueSky: @deepseapod.com
Twitter: @DeepSeaPod
Instagram: @deepsea_podcast
Keep up with the team on social mediaTwitter:
Alan - @Hadalbloke
Thom - @ThomLinley
Instagram:
Thom - @thom.linley
Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions
BlueSky:
Thom @thomaslinley.com
Alan @hadalbloke
Reference list Interview LinksA lasting symbiosis: how the Hawaiian bobtail squid finds and
keeps its bioluminescent bacterial partner
A lasting symbiosis: how Vibrio fischeri finds a squid partner
and persists within its natural host
CreditsLogo image: Dr. Margaret McFall-Ngai
Theme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel
15 November 2025, 9:02 pm - 1 hour 10 minutesBioluminescent Symbiosis with Margaret McFall-NgaiEpisode Summary
In our newest episode, Bioluminescent Symbiosis, we speak with Dr. Margaret McFall-Ngai, an animal physiologist and biochemist about her work with the Hawaiian bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes) and its partner, the luminous bacterium Vibrio fischeri. McFall-Ngai provides a great synopsis of how this stable beneficial relationship not only creates light, and supports the bobtail maturation, but can also help us understand what could be going on in the light organs of deep-sea animals.
Check out our lovely new website where you can find more detailed notes, images and links to the wider reading.
In this episode…Welcome back to the Deep-Sea Podcast, your punk take on all things deep sea!
The Professor is jetsetting as always, back in Edinburgh after a stint getting all the equipment ready in the Canary Island and is now happily being confused with professional racecar drivers. He will be back in Perth shortly to celebrate the Deep-Sea center paper publishing streak and reconnect with his Capybara spirit animal.
Thom is being called out in New Zealand Parliament, for all the right reasons, and he spent some Deep-Sea conference time in China, avoiding typhoons and pondering science ideas.
We are also celebrating 300,000 podcast downloads of the podcast, and appreciate our fans immensely!
Our guest this month is Dr. Margaret McFall-Ngai, an animal physiologist and biochemist who is a staff researcher at Carnegie Institution for Science’s Division of Biosphere Sciences and Engineering, with her lab stationed at the California Institute of Technology in Biology and Biological Engineering. Dr. McFal-Ngai talks us through her work on the stable beneficial relationship between the Hawaiian bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes) and its partner, the luminous bacterium Vibrio fischeri. Although technically not a deep-sea species, this relationship and its details might help us understand how deep-sea life creates bioluminescence and the possible life cycle impacts for the creatures involved.
In the news, get ready for updates on:
- Plenty of Science and Art collaboration news including a new collective, social media feeds and an opportunity for scientists to connect with artists.
- Toxic Yellow worms, bright pink snailfish, and chewbacca corals.
- An immensely important treaty ratification with worldwide impact.
- Headteeth, yes you read that right.
‘
On the Discord, we’ve been busy with:
- Bobtail squid fostercare
- New Boardgame recommendations
- Needle felting
- New community papers and a Juicy Booty Starfish
Support the showThe podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:
Sophie Bagshaw
Laura
Check out our podcast merch here!
Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:
We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone!
https://www.speakpipe.com/deepseapodvoicemail
Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!
Find out more Social mediaBlueSky: @deepseapod.com
Twitter: @DeepSeaPod
Instagram: @deepsea_podcast
Keep up with the team on social mediaTwitter:
Alan - @Hadalbloke
Thom - @ThomLinley
Instagram:
Thom - @thom.linley
Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions
BlueSky:
Thom @thomaslinley.com
Alan @hadalbloke
Reference list NewsLinks from Friends of the Show:
Products | Support Skype a Scientist with the Squid Facts shop!
Deep Sea Biology Society ArtSea Matchmaking Project
Unseen Ocean Collective (@unseenoceancollective) • Instagram photos and videos
https://bsky.app/profile/unseenocean.bsky.social
Swedish Biodiversity Symposium, 21 - 23 October 2025
Deep Sea Art + Science Feed on Blue Sky
NewsDeep-Sea Worm Produces Orpiment, a Toxic Yellow Pigment Used in Historical Art | Scientific American
Nations ratify the world's first treaty to protect international waters
Ghost sharks grow teeth on their heads to mate | ScienceDaily
Discord UpdatesDiatoms | Board Game | BoardGameGeek
Join our Patreon to get access to the Discord
Interview LinksA lasting symbiosis: how the Hawaiian bobtail squid finds and
keeps its bioluminescent bacterial partner
A lasting symbiosis: how Vibrio fischeri finds a squid partner
and persists within its natural host
CreditsLogo image: Dr. Margaret McFall-Ngai
Theme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel
7 November 2025, 9:03 am - 38 minutes 8 secondsThe Deco-Stop: 004 - No Word for Ocean with Yakup Niyazi
Here’s our fourth episode of The Deco-Stop; a deeper look into the humans behind deep-sea science and technology. We’ve done our science dive, and now it’s time to decompress, and discuss tales at sea, career paths and the social & political aspects of deep-sea science. We have gazed into the abyss, and now it's gazing back at us.
Alan and Thom speak with Yakup Niyazi, a marine geoscientist who first saw the ocean at the age of 27. This fourth instalment in the Deco-Stop series, which focuses on the human element of deep-sea research, is an inspiring episode about one man’s journey from the desert to the bottom of the ocean, his challenges, achievements, and the deep community support he received along the way.
Check out our lovely new website, where you can find more detailed notes, images and links to the wider reading.
In this episode…Welcome back to the Deep-Sea Podcast, this month we have a heartwarming Deco Stop episode and are again exploring …‘the human element in deep sea stories..’ - Alan
In our fourth instalment of the Deco-Stop series, Alan and Thom speak with Yakup Niyazi about his journey from the edge of the Asian Desert to the bottom of the ocean. An ethnic Uyghur who grew up in the city of Aksu, at the edge of the Taklamakan Desert in Central Asia, Yakup grew up not only physically but also emotionally and culturally removed from the sea. Yakup's early experiences pose some interesting questions: What is it like to grow up in a culture that doesn’t really have a concept of the ocean, and few descriptive words for the ocean? How do you interact with the ocean if your only experiences are from movies and television?
His incredible story is filled with overcoming adversity, fulfilled dreams, landscapes (and seascapes) that come full circle, and a deeper appreciation of the ocean than most people will ever experience. Despite humble beginnings, Yakup has an impressive roster of achievements and a social circle of supportive connections who only want to see him succeed further.
This inspiring episode reminds us that, regardless of our original circumstances, the world is a vast place filled with incredible opportunities. One day, you might find yourself exiting a hadal submarine, surrounded by the heartwarming cheers of friends and colleagues, having successfully visited the bottom of the ocean you only saw for the first time at age 27.
“I was a camel before, from the desert, but now I am a shark swimming in the ocean”- Yakup Niyazi
Support the showThe podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us.
Check out our podcast merch here!
Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:
We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone!
https://www.speakpipe.com/deepseapodvoicemail
Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!
Find out more Social mediaBlueSky: @deepseapod.com
Twitter: @DeepSeaPod
Instagram: @deepsea_podcast
Keep up with the team on social media Twitter:Alan - @Hadalbloke
Thom - @ThomLinley
Instagram:Thom - @thom.linley
Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions
BlueSky:Thom @thomaslinley.com
CreditsLogo image: Georgia Wells
Theme: Going Home by Harvey Jones
3 October 2025, 11:34 am - 37 minutes 59 secondsPRESSURISED: 062 – Mythbusting Ai with Tyler GreenfieldWelcome to the PRESSURISED version of episode 62, just the science, none of the waffle PRESSURISED: Mythbusting Ai with Tyler Greenfield | The Deep-Sea Podcast | Episode 62
Check out our lovely new website where you can find more detailed notes, images and links to the wider reading.
In a follow-up to one of our favourite episodes, Ep 10 Here be Monsters, we bring Tyler Greenfield back for another fascinating chat, this time about Mythbusting in the age of Artificial Intelligence. Our feeds have been filled with images of mermaids, bizarre creatures supposedly from the depths and even strange barnacle washing videos, so we ask Tyler to bring his expertise to weigh in on the prevalence and problems with AI images.
Guest InterviewTyler Greenfield is a paleontologist and cryptozoologist whose blog, Incertae Sedis reveals the truth behind some cryptozoological stories and paleontological mistakes. Since his appearance on episode 10, Tyler has finished his bachelor’s, written a good few papers, appeared on other podcasts (none as good as his debut of course) and is almost done with his masters and is about to start his PhD. He was even a credited consultant on the new (2025) Walking with Dinosaurs.
Support the showThe podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:
Hugo Shiboski
Check out our podcast merch here!
Join our Patreon to get access to the Discord
https://www.patreon.com/c/deepseapodcast
Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:
We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone!
https://www.speakpipe.com/deepseapodvoicemail
Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!
Find out more Social mediaBlueSky: @deepseapod.com
Twitter: @DeepSeaPod
Instagram: @deepsea_podcast
Keep up with the team on social media Twitter:Alan - @Hadalbloke
Thom - @ThomLinley
Instagram:Thom - @thom.linley
Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions
BlueSky:Thom @thomaslinley.com
Reference listThe original article for our unfortunate ‘squid’ image
How A Golden Nurse Shark Made History
InterviewTyler’s master’s/doctorate research
- https://usercontent.one/wp/pecescriollos.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PI-04-Greenfield-2022-List-of-skeletal-material-from-megatooth-sharks.pdf
- https://usercontent.one/wp/pecescriollos.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PI-06-Shimada-Greenfield-2022-Responses-to-Skeletal-material-from-megatooth-sharks.pdf
CreditsLogo image: AI image originally used by Sustainability Times- AI images are not made by humans and cannot be copyrighted. (Sorry, not sorry)
Theme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel
16 September 2025, 4:46 am - 1 hour 33 minutesMythbusting AI with Tyler Greenfield
Check out our lovely new website where you can find more detailed notes, images and links to the wider reading.
In this episode…Welcome back to the Deep-Sea Podcast, your punk take on all things deep sea! Join Alan in the Industrial Badlands of the Canary Islands as he cuts holes in ships, while Thom rubs elbows with New Zealand’s political elite.
In the news, get ready for updates on:
- A meeting in Perth to discuss the Red List status of Deep-sea organisms.
- Deep-sea desalination techniques
- Capturing Octopus movements for robot creation
- Common Starfish with a juicy booty and one country’s massive love for divestreaming
- How deep-diving beaked whales might be our closest helpful relatives
On the Discord, we’ve been busy with:
- A new patron, welcome Hugoshibo!
- Custom-milled keels for a bespoke handmade USV.
- Critter photos from a ghost diving trip.
- Debated the necessity of jars in legitimising a science career.
- Baby Dumbo paper and adorable baby photos shared by Kat.
- Deep Sea Lino cut prints happening on canvas.
- Ceramic hagfish sculptures and blown glass mermaids purses complete with kelp.
- NotOurDog made an appearance, and much talk about Oreo cafes and CAKE!
Guest InterviewTyler Greenfield is a paleontologist and cryptozoologist whose blog, Incertae Sedis reveals the truth behind some cryptozoological stories and paleontological mistakes. Since his appearance on episode 10, Tyler has finished his bachelor’s, written a good few papers, appeared on other podcasts (none as good as his debut of course) and is almost done with his masters and is about to start his PhD. He was even a credited consultant on the new (2025) Walking with Dinosaurs.
Support the showThe podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:
Hugo Shiboski
Check out our podcast merch here!
Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:
We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone!
https://www.speakpipe.com/deepseapodvoicemail
Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!
Find out more Social mediaBlueSky: @deepseapod.com
Twitter: @DeepSeaPod
Instagram: @deepsea_podcast
Keep up with the team on social media Twitter:Alan - @Hadalbloke
Thom - @ThomLinley
Instagram:Thom - @thom.linley
Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions
BlueSky:Thom @thomaslinley.com
Reference list Discord UpdatesJoin our Patreon to get access to the Discord
https://www.patreon.com/c/deepseapodcast
NewsTe Papa Biodiversity Centre Press Release
Deep-Sea Desalination Pulls Fresh Water from the Depths | Scientific American
Deep-sea octopus footage could revolutionize flexible robot design - Earth.com
Flourishing chemosynthetic life at the greatest depths of hadal trenches | Nature
The deepest-diving whales could inspire new treatments for stroke and cancer | National Geographic
Neurodegenerative Diseases: What Can Be Learned from Toothed Whales? - PMC
The original article for our unfortunate ‘squid’ image
How A Golden Nurse Shark Made History
InterviewTyler’s master’s/doctorate research
- https://usercontent.one/wp/pecescriollos.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PI-04-Greenfield-2022-List-of-skeletal-material-from-megatooth-sharks.pdf
- https://usercontent.one/wp/pecescriollos.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/PI-06-Shimada-Greenfield-2022-Responses-to-Skeletal-material-from-megatooth-sharks.pdf
Tyler’s work on Onchopristis and other sawskatesBlogposts:
- https://incertaesedisblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/18/onchopristis-is-a-sawskate-not-a-sawfish/
- https://incertaesedisblog.wordpress.com/2022/01/12/updates-on-sawskates/
- https://incertaesedisblog.wordpress.com/2022/04/12/fact-checking-planet-dinosaurs-onchopristis/
- https://incertaesedisblog.wordpress.com/2022/11/25/the-earliest-discovery-of-a-sawskate/
Other papers by Tyler:
- https://www.mapress.com/bn/article/view/bionomina.22.1.3
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356911837_Sawskates_Rajiformes_Sclerorhynchoidei_and_the_concept_of_pristification
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357752727_Sawskates_Rajiformes_Sclerorhynchoidei_and_the_concept_of_pristification
- https://mapress.com/mz/article/view/mesozoic.1.2.3
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1464343X25000081
Some of Tyler’s work on megalodon in cryptozoology
- https://www.journalofscientificexploration.org/index.php/jse/article/view/3041
- https://zenodo.org/records/7903372
- https://zenodo.org/records/13285787
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2CZMfyHQAM&t=528s
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385383987_The_history_of_Otodus_megalodon_in_cryptozoology
Further ReadingOnchopristis paper by Eduardo Villalobos-Segura et al
The BBC posted a clip of Spinosaurus hunting Onchopristis from "Walking with Dinosaurs" on YouTube, which anyone should be able to watch. The entire episode should be available for free on the BBC website for anyone in the UK and on the PBS website for anyone in the USA.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBPlZNfemmM
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002csns/walking-with-dinosaurs-series-1-2-the-river-dragon
- https://www.pbs.org/video/the-river-dragon-siyrjh/
https://sharonahill.com/fake-california-coelacanth/
Three-fingered alien mummies
Paleontologist Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi’s skeptical analysis of the mummies.
Former paleontologist Clifford Miles’ website and ‘paper.’
- https://web.archive.org/web/20231216230358/https://www.themilespaper.com/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20231223232419/https://www.themilespaper.com/_files/ugd/5a322e_bf4471a1eba54eae9290f61265f6e25c.pdf
YouTuber History with Kayleigh made a skeptical video about Miles’ work, which would be more savory to link.
Nazca Mummies Are A New ALIEN Species?!
CreditsSong of the month: This might be it by Hyphen
Logo image: AI image originally used by Sustainability Times- AI images are not made by humans and cannot be copyrighted.
Phone answering machine from Sound Effects Factory
Theme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel
8 September 2025, 3:59 am - 32 minutes 28 secondsPRESSURISED: 061 – Trench nutrient cycling with Ronnie N. GludWelcome to the PRESSURISED version of episode 61, just the science, none of the waffle PRESSURISED: Trench nutrient cycling with Ronnie N. Glud | The Deep Sea Podcast | Episode 61
Guest Interview: Nutrient cycling in the hadal trenches (6 to 11 km) and the crucial role they play in global element cycling. Professor Ronnie N. Glud, a leading biochemist and Director of the Danish Centre for Hadal Research (HADAL) talks us through how the trenches, once thought to be barren, are actually "dynamic deep-sea hotspots with intensified microbial activity and diversity". Learn about:
- How hadal trenches act as "depocenters" for organic material, leading to microbial activity that's 2 to 6 times higher than in adjacent abyssal sites.
- The surprising diversity of microbial "generalists" that easily adapt to the immense pressure and low temperatures, aided by viruses that facilitate "horizontal gene transfer".
- The return of full anaerobic diagenetic processes (like sulphate reduction and anammox) in trench sediments, making them significant sinks for fixed nitrogen.
- The role of marine snow and seismic activity in efficiently transporting organic matter and, surprisingly, pollutants like PCBs and heavy metals to these remote depths.
- Why these trenches are not isolated environments but are highly connected to surface ocean processes, even responding to climate-driven changes in primary production.
We also have a surprise blobfish guest!
Support the showThe podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:
C Wright
Check out our podcast merch here!
Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:
We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone!
https://www.speakpipe.com/deepseapodvoicemail
Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!
Find out more Social mediaBlueSky: @deepseapod.com
Twitter: @DeepSeaPod
Instagram: @deepsea_podcast
Keep up with the team on social media Twitter:Alan - @Hadalbloke
Thom - @ThomLinley
Instagram:Thom - @thom.linley
Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions
BlueSky:Thom @thomaslinley.com
Reference listFlourishing chemosynthetic life at the greatest depths of hadal trenches
Element cycling and microbial life in the hadal realm
CreditsTheme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel
Logo image: Ronnie N. Glud
16 August 2025, 8:05 pm - 55 minutes 35 secondsTrench nutrient cycling with Ronnie N. GludIn this episode…
Welcome back to the Deep-Sea Podcast, your punk take on all things deep sea! Join Dr. Thom Linley and Professor Alan Jamieson as they dive into the latest from the abyssal plain and beyond.
Deep Sea News Highlights: We kick things off with a rethinking of the deep-sea boundary! Professor Alan Jamieson discusses his recent "food for thought" paper that challenges the long-held 200-meter definition, arguing for a more scientifically relevant boundary of 1,000 meters. Find out why this seemingly arbitrary line might be doing "a lot of damage" to our understanding and attitude towards the deep sea.
Also in the news, get ready for updates on:
- A new story map on mesophotic reefs following the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
- An exciting project charting shipwrecks in the Great Lakes using cutting-edge ROV technology for 3D modelling.
- The discovery of a deep-sea limpet named after a One Piece character, found at an astonishing 6 kilometres deep!
- How Earth's deep-sea microbes are being used to model potential life on Jupiter's moon Europa.
- Groundbreaking research on a new bioplastic that vanishes by over 80% in extreme deep-sea conditions, offering hope for sustainable solutions.
Guest Interview: Nutrient cycling in the hadal trenches (6 to 11 km) and the crucial role they play in global element cycling. Professor Ronnie N. Glud, a leading biochemist and Director of the Danish Centre for Hadal Research (HADAL), talks us through how the trenches, once thought to be barren, are actually "dynamic deep-sea hotspots with intensified microbial activity and diversity". Learn about:
- How hadal trenches act as "depocenters" for organic material, leading to microbial activity that's 2 to 6 times higher than in adjacent abyssal sites.
- The surprising diversity of microbial "generalists" that easily adapt to the immense pressure and low temperatures, aided by viruses that facilitate "horizontal gene transfer".
- The return of full anaerobic diagenetic processes (like sulphate reduction and anammox) in trench sediments, making them significant sinks for fixed nitrogen.
- The role of marine snow and seismic activity in efficiently transporting organic matter and, surprisingly, pollutants like PCBs and heavy metals to these remote depths.
- Why these trenches are not isolated environments but are highly connected to surface ocean processes, even responding to climate-driven changes in primary production.
We also have a surprise blobfish guest!
Support the showThe podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:
C Wright
Check out our podcast merch here!
Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:
We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone!
Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!
Find out more Social mediaBlueSky: @deepseapod.com
Twitter: @DeepSeaPod
Instagram: @deepsea_podcast
Keep up with the team on social media Twitter:Alan - @Hadalbloke
Thom - @ThomLinley
Instagram:Thom - @thom.linley
Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions
BlueSky:Thom @thomaslinley.com
Reference list The graves of EdinburghJohn Young Buchanan - Chemist on the Challenger Expedition
Edward Forbes - Deep-sea naturalist
Sir John Murray - Father of modern oceanography
Notable people buried in Dean Cemetery
Discord UpdatesJoin our Patreon to get access to the Discord
The supergiant amphipod wiki page
News InterviewFlourishing chemosynthetic life at the greatest depths of hadal trenches
Element cycling and microbial life in the hadal realm
News/Further ReadingReconsidering the term ‘deep sea’ | ICES Journal of Marine Science | Oxford Academic
Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities Expeditions
Historic Shipwrecks Come to Light in the Great Lakes - The New York Times
Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary -- Live!
Deep-sea Limpet named after OnePiece character
Microbial Life on Earth: A Model for the Cosmos
Reef Chat from Moku Art Studio with Paola Santiago Padua and Meghan Jones
Scientists find bioplastic that vanishes 80% even in extreme deep-sea conditions
Alan appeared on another podcast too:
We've Only Explored 0.001% of the Deep Sea - What's Lurking Below? | Discover Magazine Podcast
CreditsTheme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel
Logo image: Ronnie N. Glud
3 August 2025, 11:37 pm - 31 minutes 16 secondsPRESSURISED: 060 – Mesophotic Reefs with Yi-Kai TeaWelcome to the PRESSURISED version of episode 60, just the science, none of the waffle PRESSURISED: Mesophotic Reefs with Yi-Kai Tea | The Deep Sea Podcast | Episode 60
In this month's episode, we discuss mesophotic reefs, the deeper extents of coral reefs that have been overlooked in the past. It’s a wild ride that leads us to homemade hyperbaric chambers, the aquarium trade and the world’s most expensive fish. Strap in for a rollercoaster ride as we dive to the limits of scuba.
Find out more Social mediaBlueSky: @deepseapod.com
Twitter: @DeepSeaPod
Instagram: @deepsea_podcast
Keep up with the team on social media Twitter:Alan - @Hadalbloke
Thom - @ThomLinley
Instagram:Thom - @thom.linley
Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions
BlueSky:Thom @thomaslinley.com
Reference listMesophotic fish collecting video
Taken by Ghislain Bardout from Under The Pole. The diver is Timothy Bennett, and he was collecting for the Australian Museum Research Expedition.
One of Kai’s recent mesophotic reef papers
The hyperbaric chamber for fishes
The paper where the chamber is described
Kai’s video of the peppermint angel
Her recent paper on black corals
Support the showThe podcast is only possible with your help. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:
Smorgindorg
Check out our podcast merch here!
Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:
We’d love to actually play your voice so feel free to record a short audio note!
Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!
Glossary- BRUV - Baited Remote Underwater Video
- Closed-circuit rebreather - An advanced form of scuba where your breath is recycled, and you don’t make any bubbles
- Husbandry - Keeping an animal in captivity
- IPFC - Indo-Pacific Fish Conference
- Marine Snow - The particles that rain down to the seabed; poop, dead things, cast shells
- Mesophotic Reef - The deeper extent of coral reefs where the light is reduced
- Rebreather - See Closed-circuit rebreather
- ROV - Remotely Operated Vehicle
- Systematics - The structure and relationships between species
CreditsTheme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel
Logo image: The peppermint angel by Yi-Kai Tea
17 July 2025, 7:00 am - 1 hour 7 minutesMesophotic Reefs with Yi-Kai TeaIn this episode…
Sorry the episode is a little late…. But it’s a bumper!
Alan has been checking out hypercars while sharks have been checking out Thom. In the news, we have art, anglerfish, squid and sea spiders. Then an orafish turns up, and we are all doomed.
In this month's episode, we discuss mesophotic reefs, the deeper extents of coral reefs that have been overlooked in the past. It’s a wild ride that leads us to homemade hyperbaric chambers, the aquarium trade and the world’s most expensive fish. Strap in for a rollercoaster ride as we dive to the limits of scuba.
Support the showThe podcast is only possible with your help. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:
Smorgindorg
Check out our podcast merch here!
Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on:
We’d love to actually play your voice so feel free to record a short audio note!
Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!
Find out more Social mediaBlueSky: @deepseapod.com
Twitter: @DeepSeaPod
Instagram: @deepsea_podcast
Keep up with the team on social media Twitter:Alan - @Hadalbloke
Thom - @ThomLinley
Instagram:Thom - @thom.linley
Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions
BlueSky:Thom @thomaslinley.com
Reference list Discord UpdatesJoin our Patreon to get access to the Discord
The New Zealand wandering anemone
The supergiant amphipod wiki page
NewsOarfish are turning up everywhere
Andrew and Thom’s oarfish blog
DOSI new podcast - Think Deep!
Ancient Oceans filled with Squid
InterviewMesophotic fish collecting video
Taken by Ghislain Bardout from Under The Pole. The diver is Timothy Bennett, and he was collecting for the Australian Museum Research Expedition.
One of Kai’s recent mesophotic reef papers
The hyperbaric chamber for fishes
The paper where the chamber is described
Kai’s video of the peppermint angel
Her recent paper on black corals
Coffee with Andrew
Glossary- BRUV - Baited Remote Underwater Video
- Closed-circuit rebreather - An advanced form of scuba where your breath is recycled, and you don’t make any bubbles
- Husbandry - Keeping an animal in captivity
- IPFC - Indo-Pacific Fish Conference
- Marine Snow - The particles that rain down to the seabed; poop, dead things, cast shells
- Mesophotic Reef - The deeper extent of coral reefs where the light is reduced
- Rebreather - See Closed-circuit rebreather
- ROV - Remotely Operated Vehicle
- Systematics - The structure and relationships between species
CreditsTheme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel
Logo image: The peppermint angel by Yi-Kai Tea
7 July 2025, 7:50 am - 32 minutes 6 secondsPRESSURISED: 059 - eDNA with Georgia NestereDNA with Georgia Nester | The Deep Sea Podcast | Episode 59
Welcome to the PRESSURISED version of episode 59, just the science, none of the waffleFor this month’s interview, we speak with Dr. Georgia Nester, a colleague of Alan’s from the University of Western Australia, about eDNA (Environmental DNA is any genetic material left behind by organisms in an environment). She talks about how several collection methods, eg.: Niskin bottles, sponges and paper filters, located on the deep-sea lander system, can retrieve different types of eDNA from the deep. Georgia also touches on how diel migrators can really mess with eDNA data, and larvae gave her a surprise when she kept getting hits from very deep-living fish in her surface samples. Georgia even used a water sample to locate surprise eDNA evidence of the Giant Squid in Australian waters, which Al takes as a chance to remind Thom of his Antarctic colossal squid failure.
Alan talks about how valuable he thinks eDNA is, how it can give a great snapshot of what can’t be seen on the footage or in the submersible, and how it might be able to narrow down species that are difficult to catch, like Bassozetus cusk eels.
Support the showThe show is self-sustaining, but we couldn’t do it without you. Here’s a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us:
- Rainstorm Wolfe
- Shea
- Racist Teacup
Don’t forget that becoming a patron also gives you access to the Discord and a like-minded community of deep-sea folks, including scientists, artists, students, and previous guests! Deep-sea news often breaks there first.
Check out our podcast merch here!
Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas at:
We’d love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note!
Thanks again for tuning in; we’ll deep-see you next time!
Find out more Social mediaBlueSky: @deepseapod.com
Twitter: @DeepSeaPod
Instagram: @deepsea_podcast
Keep up with the team on social media Twitter:Alan - @Hadalbloke
Thom - @ThomLinley
Instagram:Thom - @thom.linley
Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions
BlueSky:Thom @thomaslinley.com
Reference list
CreditsTheme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel
Logo image: Microsoft CoPilot
15 June 2025, 11:29 pm - More Episodes? Get the App